Introduction
It is a well-known fact that James Mercer Langston Hughes is one of the most influential voices of the Harlem Renaissance. Many of his texts reflect the importance of human experience and the culture of his era. Langston Hughes’s “Mother to Son” poem is a powerful message, which a mother conveys to her child as instruction and moral support. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the poem and discuss the way the use of literary elements contributes to building a complex message contained in the text.
Analysis
The essence of the poem revolves around the idea that life was not a crystal staircase for the main heroine, who is the speaker, and she warns her child about it. Also, the poem explains that life is not an adventure or a journey that should be taken for the sake of self-knowledge, but exhausting work and long, tedious walking. The mother’s instruction encourages the son to continue walking and not give up despite the possible obstacles he might come across in his life.
Notably, from the very first line, the mother addresses her child directly and encourages him to listen to her: “Well, son, I’ll tell you” (1. 1). The manner of speaking is informal, which implies that the relationship is close but also that the conversation will not be easy. The second line – “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” – immediately reveals the main message of the conversation (1. 2). The woman warns her child that life has never been easy for her.
From the third line, the woman compares her life path to someone else’s for whom it was easier to live. For the mother, her life path was full of “splinters” and “boards were torn up,” which is indicated in the fourth and fifth lines directly (1. 4-5). It may be assumed that fear was one of the dominating feelings for the woman, and each new step made on the staircase could bring something new of which to be afraid. In addition, the next lines imply that the woman has had no support at some points in her life because sometimes the floor was “bare” (1. 6-7). The mother says to her son that there have always been instances when she had no support, which was accompanied by poor living conditions (“no carpet”), and so her journey was a struggle (1. 6).
Interestingly, starting from the eighth line, the mood changes slightly. The woman tells her son that, despite the complexities faced (“but all the time”), she is moving forward: “I’ve been a-climbin’ on” (2. 8-9). She wants her son to continue climbing the metaphorical stairs and accept the lessons life has prepared for him. Then the mother describes her landings; whenever she was “reachin’ landings,” she would make a turn or take some time to relax (2. 10). In lines twelve-thirteen, she still warns her child that sometimes she had to continue to walk in places where there was no light, but she was not afraid of this. It may be assumed that the woman wants her son to be a strong person ready to face the possible threats the stairs may offer. It is impossible to say if the mother was the first one to climb the stairs in the darkness or if she was one of the many people who were doing this. Every reader needs to interpret these two lines according to their worldview.
Further on, the woman wants to make sure the son is listening to her attentively, and so she addresses him directly: “So boy, don’t you turn back” (3. 14). She wants to make sure he does not “turn back” despite the adversities of life and the possible oppression (3. 14). She tries to warn him that there is nothing down the staircase that could help him overcome the dangerous steps, so he simply needs to continue climbing up. Then she continues instructing and advising him not to “set down on the steps” because this will not help solve any problem but only complicate the setting (3. 15-16). In the most difficult situations, the son needs to pull himself in hand and overcome his fears instead of taking a break.
Inline seventeen, the woman also warns her child that the higher he gets, the more dangerous it becomes to “fall” down, so he needs to be careful and cautious (3. 17). The stairs are full of obstacles, splinters, and broken boards, and it is quite possible that the higher he gets, the more challenges might emerge. Therefore, he needs to be careful about the choices he makes to ensure some of those obstacles are prevented.
Importantly, the last three lines of the final stanza conclude the main message of the talk between a mother and a child. The woman states that she still chooses to continue her difficult journey, although she has had enough challenges and limitations. She is “still climbin’,” and she wants her son never to give up as well (3. 19). She repeats that her life “ain’t been no crystal stair,” but it is her decision and desire to continue climbing (3. 20). This is the world in which they are living, and they should accept the adversities it brings them.
Literary Elements
Curiously, in his poem, Langston Hughes expands the metaphor, building up meanings around a certain idea. In this case, the metaphor of a ladder reflects the woman’s complex life path and how she copes with difficulties. The physical structure of the poem connects the form with the metaphor since the lines of the text (a combination of short and long lines) reflect the shape of the stairs. The shape of the ladder is supported by the free verse and absence of a particular rhyme.
Apart from that, the topics of light and darkness may be regarded as symbols. Sometimes, the woman has to walk in complete darkness (or in the absence of light), which indicates that there have been situations when she had no hope for the better. In addition, it may be assumed that the mother was unsure of where she was going and if she was walking in the correct direction.
In terms of language, the reader may notice that the speaker uses colloquial language. This has been done intentionally to reveal to the reader that the woman is less educated, and her life is not perfect. It may be suggested that informal language was used as a tool to create a generalized image of people of that time who were facing oppression and wanted to warn their children about the challenges.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that Langston Hughes has built the metaphor of a staircase on several levels. The powerful message that the mother conveys to her son reflects the inspirational insistence of the woman. Through her own example, she is trying to encourage her son to fight since he will inevitably encounter the difficulties inherent in an unequal society. Through the metaphor of a staircase, the poet introduces the challenges this woman has faced and reveals that she is willing to pass her endurance to her child.